A logical application of videogame technology is to provide videogame systems featuring comic book characters and stories. However, many previous comic-based videogame systems have merely employed a comic book hero as the main character in an otherwise common videogame system with horizontally scrolled backgrounds and "levels" of play representing essentially random adventures in different worlds characterized by different background graphics. These prior comic book game systems have not been able to capture the essence of the comic book medium such as visually and episodically distinct story panels or the ability to create and to follow a story line, compared to the random wanderings in the various worlds characteristic of most videogame formats.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a videogame system whose audio visual presentation authentically simulates the traditional comic book format particularly with respect to the "snapshot" story style. Simultaneously, it is an object of the present invention to preserve the playability, interactivity and discoverability of existing videogame systems. These objectives required the use of rich detailed comic-book-like graphics which could be distributed on ROM (or the equivalent such as downloading from cable.) These objectives, in one embodiment designed for a 16 bit videogame system, were implemented in the COMIX ZONE.TM. product, a comic book simulation which captures the essential features of the comic book medium.